In 1971, Ishinomori hit the jackpot by joining the staff of a new live-action superhero show for Toei TV. He was hired to create a superhero to compete with the popular Return of Ultraman program. He created a motorcycle-riding grasshopper hero named Kamen Rider, who owed a bit to both Bob Kane's Batman and the old Moonlight Mask Japanese serials of the 50s. Ishinomori created the characters and the concepts, but he left the running of the TV show to Toei. Meanwhile, he created a Kamen Rider manga that departed significantly from the television version.